ENG 2D: In My Country Film Response:
For many, being present at the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings in South Africa was a traumatic experience. But Antjie Krog (whom the character of Anna Malan is based upon) admits that the tears were wept by white journalists, while their black colleagues remained stony-faced, as they listened to what they already knew, what was already a part of their personal histories. In Krog’s book, Country of My Skull (which In My Country is based on), Krog writes from the perspective of an Afrikaner, struggling to come to terms with the fact that her nation has been built on massive, widespread human rights abuses, of which her race have been the perpetrators and the beneficiaries.
1. In a key scene in the film, In My Country, Afrikaner Anna Malan becomes angry and upset when she reads African-American, Langston Whitfield’s Washington Post headline:
“South African Holocaust: A genocide. Every white South African is as guilty as the perpetrators themselves.”
What do you think of her reaction? Do you agree with Whitfield’s position? Explain your opinion.
2. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was devised as a means of trying to overcome the overwhelming feelings of grief, loss, suffering, and injustice that prevailed in post-apartheid South Africa. The idea of reconciliation comes from the traditional African concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu means that I am a person through other people. It means that my humanity is tied to yours. As Anna Malan decribes in the film,
“[Ubuntu] means we’re all connected. What hurts you, hurts me. What affects you, affects me. It affects everyone….It’s all about compassion and forgiveness.”
What did you think about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings? What are your thoughts on the concept of Ubuntu? Explain.
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After you have completed your response to these questions, please begin reading Cry, the Beloved Country, and respond to the following comprehension questions for homework:
Chapter 1: What is the problem in Ndotsheni?
Chapter 2: What is the message in the letter Kumalo receives?
Where does the money come from for Kumalo’s journey?
Chpater 3: What does his companion request of Kumalo at the train station?
Chapter 4: How does Kumalo react to the things he sees from the train?
How does Kumalo find the Reverend Msimangu?
Chapter 5: What is Gertrude’s sickness?
What does Msimangu think of the social problem?